Starting out as a DJ back when he was just 11 years old playing at weddings for friends and family, Erick Morillo has come a long way. He's had success as a producer, an artist within his own right and also runs one of the biggest independent dance labels in the world. Is there anything left for this man to achieve? Notion trekked all the way to Ibiza to catch up with everyone's favourite party DJ in person...

High in the hills of the island of love, and after taking a few frantic phone calls, we arrive at what looks like a Hollywood villa overlooking the beautiful view of Ibiza and the sea. After checking out his fabulous pad, I sit down with Erick and ask him how he is: "Great thank you! I’m basically here for a couple of days now getting ready for this season in Ibiza. The island is buzzing and bubbling quite nicely - in fact I was down at Pacha last night and there was a really good vibe going on!" With the opening parties due to kick off the weekend after our visit, it has to be said that there was a definite atmosphere of anticipation amongst the newly arrived and the locals themselves.

Not unfamiliar with travelling and hard work, Erick explains that prior to landing in Ibiza he had been incredibly busy travelling the globe, taking in the Cannes Film festival and Marrakech DJing and generally getting ready for the last six months of the year, within which he has plenty going on. One interesting project is with P-Diddy for his 'Dance Now' album, due out next month. Diddy and Erick met when Erick was working on his debut album as an artist, 'My World', (which also featured the Audio Bullys and Boy George amongst others). "He's a really, really great guy, very driven and inspiring," Erick comments before continuing, "I've also been working on a single with Shawnee Taylor, that myself and Jose Nunez produced, along with another project with Shawnee covering Blondie's 'Call Me.'" All this as well as his residency in Ibiza this year and managing his label, Erick's calendar is fully booked. "I took one holiday for two weeks in Hawaii at the start of this year and my next weekend off is in December, but I'm a self confessed workaholic!"

Raised in Columbia, and then New Jersey, Erick grew up on a variety of musical styles, including Latin, reggae, and hip hop, and decided to take a studio engineering course at the local Centre of Media Arts. It wasn't until Erick met Marc Anthony (the salsa king) that he became involved in the house music scene, working with Louie Vega and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzales. He spent a lot of time approaching labels with his projects, but the response wasn't great. It wasn't until he took a track called 'The New Anthem' to Strictly under the name Reel 2 Reel, that anyone actually took any notice. This track was quickly followed by the massive club anthem of the 90s 'I Like To Move It'. The track has seen Erick well, alighting the pop charts across the globe and going platinum in Holland and gold in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and Australia.

Something that frustrates Erick though is the somewhat lazy attitude of those using beat matching technology in their sets and calling it DJing - if you're not matching beats then what are you doing? "If I didn't have to worry about beat matching, I'd be fucking turning on cars or something to take it to the next level at least!" exclaims mister Morillo, losing his cool a little bit.

Does he see his future in the music industry continuing for years and years to come? "I have been telling people that when I am 35, I'm going to retire and whenever I say it everyone's like NO! But I don't mean retire like that. I mean when I come to Ibiza, maybe doing one weekend a month would be better and the same goes for New York." Does this mean that he is finally ready to take a step back and chill after all these years? "I feel that what's happened up until now has been the first phase of my life, and I do feel I want my life to go somewhere else. I'm not completely sure where but somewhere."

Looking forward to Erick's summer in Ibiza, and despite his residency here in Pacha, does he have anyone else he's planning to check out once the opening parties get things going? "Well it's not really possible for me because I only have Monday and Tuesday of each week as I am travelling about the rest of the time. I'm probably gonna check out Cocoon and then some local house parties with friends - this is good for me especially as I don't have that much time off to spend with them." Does he think the island still holds the same appeal as it always has, especially as there are always references made to other destinations as "The New Ibiza?" "I don’t think Ibiza has lost anything," he frowns. "It's ever changing for sure and it has lost a certain element of it's rustic feel, with the building of highways, but it's needed because the island cannot cope with the influx of visitors each year." As an Ibiza resident for many years, Erick has certainly born witness to the changes the island has undergone and as far as he is concerned, Ibiza is still attracting the crowds: "The planes are still full, the clubs are still rocking, the hot girls are still coming here - it's all good. It's still the best place in the world to party and there is no place like it." What is it that makes Ibiza so special to him? "There's nowhere like it where you can touch so many people from so many places, except maybe at the Miami conference... maybe."

So after spending so much time on the island over the years, is there one particular night he played that is his fondest memory? Without hesitation he answers, "2001, the closing party at Space after the September 11th attacks in New York. As my last record I played Frank Sinatra's 'New York, New York'. It gave an extra meaning to the night. People were still really freaked out by the whole thing, the planes were empty because nobody wanted to fly anywhere, but that night I turned the levels down and everyone was singing along, some were crying, and American flags seemed to appear from nowhere. I don’t know where they came from as there hadn't been any earlier in the night. It was like wow! Fucking amazing. It reiterates what I always say about the dance music scene - that the music unites us and then it's all about the love..." With that sombre comment the room is silent and Erick seems to have gone back to that night... he soon speaks again, a cheeky grin on his face - "But there was also this amazing threesome I had," he chuckles, and with that the Dictaphone is well and truly turned off!

CATCH ERICK PLAYING HIS RESIDENCY AT SPACE IBIZA THIS SUMMER, HE’LL ALSO BE PLAYING AT CREAMFIELDS AND GLOBAL GATHERING IN THE UK, AND IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT TO ANY OF THOSE, HIS NEW ALBUM ‘SUBLIMINAL SESSIONS 10’ IS OUT ON SUBLIMINAL RECORDS ON JUNE 19TH.

WORDS: MATTHEW WHITE